Thursday, July 21, 2016

Viva Venezuela!
Venezuela Continues to Stand Against U.S. Intervention!

By Alison Bodine

On June 21, 2016 Afro-Venezuelans from all of Venezuela’s 14 states took
to the streets in Caracas to show their support for the government of
Venezuela against an economic war and foreign intervention. Two days
later, people across Venezuela gathered in the public squares of major
cities also against foreign intervention and to defend the sovereignty
of Venezuela. On the International Day of Refugees, Colombians living in
Venezuela marched in Caracas in support of the Bolivarian Revolution
and the government of Venezuela.

These mass demonstrations are only a few examples of the way that the
people of Venezuela are demonstrating their support of the Bolivarian
Revolution. The people of Venezuela, led by the government of President
Nicolas Maduro are mobilizing every day, in streets, classrooms and
workplaces of Venezuela to defend the gains of the Bolivarian Revolution
against a violent counter-revolutionary opposition that works
hand-in-hand with the U.S. government.

However, you would know none of this if you were reading the mainstream
news. Instead, you would
see the headlines “Venezuela food shortage pushes country to breaking
point”, “Rolling blackouts and riots in drought-stricken Venezuela”,
“Venezuelans ransack stores, riot in streets as widespread hunger grips
South American nation” or “Venezuela is grinding to a halt amid chaos;”
all headlines that have been used in the last month for articles in the
New York Times, the Washington Post and even Canadian press such as the
CBC.

This mainstream media campaign against Venezuela is using lies,
deceptions and manipulations to turn Venezuela into a “failed state,”
with a people in desperate need of foreign aid and intervention. This is
a false and exaggerated narrative that compliments the current policy
of the U.S. government and their allies against the sovereignty and
self-determination of the people of Venezuela.

U.S. Intervention in Venezuela Continues

Since the beginning of the Bolivarian Revolution with the election of
Comandante Hugo Chavez in 1998, the U.S. government has led a constant
attack against the people of Venezuela and their right to choose their
own government and the future of their country. This has included
financial and political support for a violent and counter-revolutionary
opposition in Venezuela, including support for a 2002 coup against
President Chavez. Most recently, President Obama and the U.S. government
have declared Venezuela as a “threat to U.S. national security” and
upheld existing sanctions.

Calls for foreign intervention, including support for a motion against
Venezuela in the Organization of American States (OAS) have been echoed
by all major political parties in Canada, including the NDP. In a recent
statement NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Hélène Laverdière
(Laurier—Sainte-Marie) said “Canada should be working through the
Organization of American States (OAS) to support multilateral diplomatic
initiatives. The OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro has invoked the
Inter-American Democratic Charter regarding Venezuela, and Canada, as a
member of the OAS, should support his efforts. Multilateral action is
the best way to find a peaceful and democratic solution to the crisis in
Venezuela.”

So, What About the OAS?

The United States and their allies have also continued to try and impose
their will on the people of Venezuela through the apparatus of the
Organization of American States (OAS). In May, the OAS member-states
(which include the United States and Canada) refused to accept the call
of the General Secretary of the OAS to invoke the “Inter-American
Democratic Charter” against Venezuela, which could lead to the removal
Venezuela from the regional body. Then, in June there was another
meeting of the OAS where the General Secretary, Luis Almagro proceeded
to read his full report on Venezuela and the reasons they should be
banned from the OAS.

The government of Venezuela has denied the legitimacy of the General
Secretary to invoke the charter, especially in the light of Almagro’s
direct meetings with the opposition in Venezuela as if they were somehow
representatives of Venezuela at the OAS. As Delcy Rodriguez, the
Foreign Minister of Venezuela has said “"Every day we have evidence of
the secretary general's bias in favor of sectors of the opposition who
are seeking a coup in Venezuela," she said. “I see now this is ordered
by Washington. I know they are on Washington’s payroll to meddle in the
domestic affairs of Venezuela.”

Member-states at the OAS meeting expressed their support for dialogue
between the government of Venezuela and the opposition as facilitated by
UNASUR. As opposed to the OAS, which is based in Washington DC and
receives 59% of its funding from the United States, UNASUR is a regional
cooperation bloc for and in South America. If the United States and
their allies are truly concerned with peace and democracy in Venezuela,
they should support the efforts of Venezuela’s neighbors to promote
dialogue.

What Are the Media Lies and Deceptions About Venezuela?

At a time when the U.S. government has chosen to mask its intervention
in Venezuela under demands for “democracy” and an end to “humanitarian
crisis,” mainstream media has also launched a campaign against Venezuela
in order to pave the way for further intervention. This campaign is
working through all major capitalist media outlets to prove that the
people of Venezuela are facing a humanitarian crisis that the government
of Venezuela is doing nothing to remedy.

This manipulative campaign has focused especially on food shortages and
the long lines of people waiting to buy basic goods in Venezuela. First
of all, it must be said, what right does the U.S. government and media
have to tell Venezuela about ensuring access to proper nutrition? Within
the United States, the richest country in the world, over 15 million
children live in households without consistent access to “nutritious
food necessary for a healthy life”, according to the US Department of
Agriculture.

Despite the obvious hypocrisy, the mainstream media and U.S. government
officials continue to offer their criticisms, placing the entire fault
for lines and shortages on the shoulders of the Venezuelan government.
There are, however, many other factors that contribute to the great
challenges that the Venezuelan economy is facing, not the least of which
has been the dramatic fall in the price of oil, Venezuela’s main
export. These factors, with very real consequences to Venezuela’s
economy are brushed off in major media in order to make room for more
photos of empty grocery store shelves.

The continued practice of the smuggling and re-selling of basic goods in
Venezuela for a massive profit is another factor causing shortages. In a
rare article about the problem of smuggling in Venezuela, Time Magazine
interviewed two sisters in Colombia. As Time reports, “… they meet a
local who has purchased about 60 kilos of beef at the Mercal, the state
subsidized supermarket, for the equivalent of just $54. By the end of
the day that same quantity of meat will be on a market shelf in Cucuta,
where it will sell for over $200.” Despite the closure of much of the
Venezuela/Colombia border by President Maduro in August of 2015 to
crackdown on smuggling, the criminal practice continues to funnel food
and basic goods out of government subsidized stores and out the country.

To further demonstrate that the mainstream media has no interest in the
truth about Venezuela, take for example a photo that has been re-printed
dozens of times in mainstream media over the past few years. In this
photo, a woman with a grocery cart is seen walking in front of a row of
empty shelves, a supposed example of a severe crisis in Venezuela.
Although this photo was reported as being taken in Venezuela, it was
later proven to be a photo taken in New York in 2011 prior to Hurricane
Sandy.

It has also become common practice in the mainstream media to report
that the inflation rate in Venezuela has reached 700%, which is a direct
lie. This number is only a prediction by the IMF about where the
inflation rate is headed in Venezuela in the next year. Instead,
Venezuela’s Central Bank has reported that the inflation rate 141.5
percent.

“Each aggression of the opposition must be responded to with more revolution”

Diosdado Cabello, Venezuelan Parliamentarian and former President of Venezuela’s National Assembly

In Venezuela today, the majority of food production and distribution is
still controlled by private companies, a factor that mainstream media
chooses to leave out when they discuss shortages. These companies,
including the largest, known as Empresa Polar, have been found hoarding
food as well as raising prices for basic goods. In order to combat this,
the government of Venezuela has implemented emergency economic measures
that enable them to introduce more control and regulation in the
industry. With the emergency decree in place, there are advances being
made to diversify Venezuela’s economy as well as boost production in
factories left to waste by private industry in Venezuela.

They have also formed a community-based food distribution system, known
as CLAP – Local Committees of Supply and Production. As reported by
Telesur at the beginning of June, “the CLAP committees have facilitated
the distribution of 33,000 tons of food to some 6.4 million of
Venezuelans.” As well, the government is working to establish growth of
food production in Venezuela, with new projects such as community
gardens and urban farms. In another sector, Venezuela actively working
to increase food imports outside of the private sector. This includes a
recent trade deal with Trinidad and Tobago for food, bath and laundry
soaps and toilet paper.

When the right-wing opposition was elected to a majority in the National
Assembly in December of 2015, the first laws that they attempted to
pass immediately showed their intentions to roll back the great gains
made by the people of Venezuela in the Bolivarian Revolution. Despite
these attempts, the people of Venezuela continue to receive the
important services delivered by the social programs, known as “Missions”
in Venezuela. This includes those for housing, health and dental care,
subsidized food and education.

“I will say this now and always, Venezuela does not obey orders from the United States.”
– Nicolas Maduro

In the face of a difficult economic and political situation in
Venezuela, the Bolivarian Revolution has continued to advance, in
dramatic contrast to the chaos and desperation described by mainstream
media. As the mainstream media mounts a campaign of lies and deceptions
to paint Venezuela as a failed-state, the government of Venezuela is
working to combat a very-real economic crisis, a violent
counter-revolutionary opposition and constant threats of foreign
intervention.

Almost 17 years ago the people of Venezuela choose to pursue a different
path than that set out by the U.S. government and their allies in Latin
America. With the election of the late President Comandante Hugo
Chavez, the people of Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution began to
build a more equal and just society. Since then, great gains have been
made in the fight against poverty, illiteracy and lack of adequate
housing, education and healthcare in Venezuela.

Ever since that day, the government of Venezuela and the Bolivarian
Revolution has been under constant threat. As people in Canada and the
United States we must echo the demands of the people of Venezuela
against foreign intervention and expose the hypocrisy of the U.S.
government in their claim to be fighting for “democracy” and “human
rights” in Venezuela.

2 comments:

This article is absolute hogwash. Reminds me of the improbable propaganda shoveled up by that little moron in North Korea.The 'people' of Venezuela had little to do with the "election' of Chavez, and even less to say in that fool's replacement. This is socialism. At its base, socialism is a fairy tale. All socialist governments are put onthe people with lies, then kept there by force. When things collapse, socialist states are quick to blame the USA,as in the current silliness being the subject of this comment. Of course, the fact that Maduro is a numbskull has no impact on the blame US bugaboo. Maduro is the stuff of all vice regents ever posted by the top dog. Not too smart or ambitious. The kind of pet you can leave home without fear. Now the people of VZ are the ones that always pay the bill for socialist experiments. As a personal aside, I have known a few friends in a hobby group in Venezuela. They tell me a much different story than that fabric of nonsense above. I pray for their safety.

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